Cary Edmondson Blog

New Blog Site

2010-06-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

I did a google search recently under my name and realized that this site still comes up near the top of the list! I've make a new website awhile back but never made an update on here. But anyways... for anyone who is looking to see some of my current work... all of my future blog updates will be done at the following site... so make sure to check it out at: www.caryedmondson.com

Monday Night Football Opener

2009-09-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

I was able to shoot one of the Monday Night Football opening games yesterday when the Chargers visited the Raiders in Oakland... and it was probably one of the most exciting Raiders games I've ever shot! The Raiders came back to take the lead on a 57 yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes remaining. I was pretty happy because I got some decent shots of what I thought "might" be the winning touchdown at that point... but then I thought about it for a second and remembered that I was shooting the Raiders so anything was possible. Sadly enough for all of the home team fans, the Chargers came back and took the lead with barely any time left on the clock. Luckily for me, I got an even better picture because of the celebration by the Chargers running back... so I was pretty happy with everything. Below is how the celebration ran on ESPN.com.

Great Wedding Shoot in Southern Cal

2009-09-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had one of my best wedding shoots ever. I was scheduled for a full day in Los Angeles for Jennifer and Marijo's wedding, and I had a blast shooting! Jennifer did her best to worry me countless times before the wedding, emphasizing how "unique" her family can be at times :) I laughed it off because I could tell she was just preparing me for the worst. But when the wedding day came the schedule was about as close to perfect as it can get.
We arrived at the house for "getting-ready" shots a couple hours before the ceremony. From there we shot the ceremony, drove off to a couple off-site locations, arrived at the reception to shoot an hours worth of standard shots with the family, and then rolled right into the reception. Jen and Marijo were awesome to work with too, they were super relaxed around the camera and trusted the videographer and I to pull out some creative stuff... which I think we got :) I had several shots that I really liked from the day. My favorite shot was of Jennifer inside a highly decorated locker room while my runner-up was of the couple next to an In-n-Out sign (they met at the restaurant and I even noticed that their house was decorated with many In-n-Out collectibles). Anyways... I had a fabulous time and I'm excited to go through all of the photos to see everything that I got... should be fun :)

Quick trip to the beach

2009-09-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

So I had a chance to make a quick stop at the beach before a wedding shoot near Los Angeles this weekend. I actually got this photo with my pocket-sized point and shoot. If anyone is ever shopping for a good little camera I highly recommend the Canon digital elph series. But anyways... almost time for the shoot now... let's hope it's a good one!

Exciting Baseball Game!

2009-08-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

I didn't shoot my best game of the year on Sunday, but I definitely shot my most exciting baseball game of the year! For anyone who has been keeping up with the San Francisco Giants, they are aware of the fact that the team is making a push for the playoffs with about a month left in the season. On Sunday the Giants were finishing a three-game series with the Rockies, the team which was one game ahead of them in the chase for the last playoff spot. Anyways... on to the drama! Things didn't look good for the Giants until the bottom of the seventh inning came. They were down three runs but managed to load the bases with two outs in the inning. That's when Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam, putting the Giants ahead for good as they went on to defeat the Rockies and pull themselves into a tie for the final playoff spot. I got pretty lucky myself too because when I got home I saw all of my photos on all of the major websites. I had a photo on the front page of Yahoo Sports, ESPN, and had another run on USA Today's site. Here's a look at how everything ran.

Leno visits Turlock

2009-08-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

“It’s a surprise!” ... That was the common response I would get when attempting to find out who was performing at the Foster Farms corporate party I shot this weekend. Rumors were circulating that Neil Diamond was performing since all the songs being performed during sound-check were class Diamond songs. I tried doing some investigating but could not get answers out of anyone. I discovered that only two people in attendance knew who the “special guest” was before they made their way on stage... One was an officer who worked for the school, and the other was the owner of Foster Farms... (since hardly anyone knew what the secret was, I’m guessing that’s why the surprise was never spoiled). When it came time for the announcement, I have to admit that I was expecting to roll my eyes when they announced who would be entertaining the crowed for the evening... (For some reason I just wasn’t expecting to hear a “big” name called out). When it happened, I honestly don’t even remember how he was introduced, I just remember hearing the owner of Foster Farms say “Jay Leno”! Soon after a huge roar came from the crowd, followed by endless clapping. I just turned to the person next to me in disbelief and said... “Jay Leno? Jay Leno is in Turlock?” I couldn’t believe it! I think I just stood there in shock for a moment... not so much for the fact that it was a major celebrity, because I get to see professional athletes up close every week, but it was more for mere fact that Leno was in Turlock! Once I saw him on stage with my own eyes I immediately went into “work mode” and shot a great standup act. It was a great night and my only hope now is that the school will get some major celebrities to perform on campus for the students and alumni in the future. Leno grabbed everyone’s attention and created an electric vibe that I doubt most will forget. He was by far the most entertaining performer I have shot in Turlock since I started working at the school. Thank you Foster Farms :)

New Stadium Opens

2009-08-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

I felt a little strange shooting sports the other day because I was actually shooting for the school again. The summer break is just about over and the first preseason soccer games took place yesterday in the school's new stadium which just finished being built. I got quite a few decent action shots from the men's game and then stuck around for the start of the night game to get an overall shot of the stadium since yesterday marked the first time any games were played there... and I knew we'd need something for the school's web updates. Overall I thought the place looked pretty nice, ... but I do with the lights shined a little brighter because it was tough to get a good action shot from the night game.

Missed Opportunity

2009-08-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

The 49ers and Raiders played a rivalry-game for San Francisco's first home preseason game of the year. The most memorable part of the game came in the fourth quarter when an amazing play happened not too far from me. The company I worked for told me to get some 'detail' shots throughout the game... which wasn't too big of a deal since it was the preseason and no plays count for anything in the standings. Little did I know I was going to miss out on getting an amazing image by shooting some detail shots though! I took off my medium sized lens and was shooting with a really large lens and a wide angle, (I put the wide angle lens on since the sun was going down and there was some good color in the sky). Right after I did this, the quarterback for the Raiders starting running near me towards the endzone, once I knew he wasn't going to throw the ball I switched from the long lens to my wide angle and got this photo of him diving over the pylon for a touchdown. So technically I didn't miss the shot completely, but the background on the image would've been a less 'busy' and the dive would've been a little sharper if I had my main lens on. Oh it was frustrating at the time, but all you can do is laugh at the end of the day because no photographer is able to get every shot. Hopefully I'll just have the right lens on the next time someone dives in my direction :)

Yankees vs. A's

2009-08-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Yankees came to town to take on the A's in Oakland... and I was pretty excited to shoot the Yanks since the only time I've taken pictures of the team was during Spring Training when I was working in Florida almost four years ago. A couple of my favorite shots came from the same angle when I was shooting Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Obviously the picture of A-Rod spitting is a little on the gross side... but at the same time I think it's pretty funny so I thought I'd post it up on the blog :)

Preseason Football

2009-08-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

So the football season is upon us! Very excited to shoot some football the other day in Oakland. But preseason games are a little different to shoot than regular season games... especially for the first game of the year. The reason being is that the starters usually only play for one or two series. Since I knew this going into the game, I was really hoping to get a couple of good shots before the starters sat on the bench for the rest of the game. Luckily I got a shot of Tony Romo throwing a touchdown pass in my direction just before he stood on the sidelines for the rest of the game.

My first Sikh Wedding

2009-08-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

I worked an incredibly long day yesterday as I shot m first Sikh wedding... almost 16 hours in total! (... well, not counting my lunch break of course). But it was amazing! So much color... it's almost hard not to take a good photo in my opinion. I'll post more pictures and less words for this blog since I really love the photos. Enjoy!

Phillies at Giants

2009-08-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe August is already here... but I'm happy it is! Mainly because I finished working six weddings over the past seven weeks. If I wasn't shooting sports or working at the school for my day job that wouldn't be too big of a deal, but let's just say I've kept pretty busy over the past two months. Here are a few shots from yesterday's Phillies-Giants game. My favorite shot of the game came from the play at the plate. When I took the photo I didn't think I got anything too exciting... but later when I was editing I saw the ball being balanced on the head of the catcher... obviously the runner was safe on the play ;)

Club America vs. Inter Milan

2009-07-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

One of my absolute favorite sports to shoot is soccer. I love it! Next to American Football it is probably my favorite sport to shoot. Yesterday Club America took on Inter Milan in a kind of 'pre-seaon' type game. It wasn't one of my best shoots, but just seeing the fans there made my trip to Palo Alto worth it. Soccer fans are way more active than any other fans I've been around (... with the exception of some Raiders fans of course :) Club America won the contest on penalty kicks.

Pete and Katie Wedding

2009-07-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the year I took some great engagement shots of Pete and Katie... and yesterday their wedding day finally arrived. The shoot turned out to be a little crazy I have to admit... fun, but crazy. Normally I emphasize working as a candid photographer, but the couple ended up taking portraits in the church of family and friends before and after the ceremony... and I think the sessions lasted for almost three hours leaving us little time to do much else. Once we got over to the reception hall I think I was most proud of the fact that I got some pretty good shots of the couple within the 15 minute time-span they gave me during a backdoor escape at the reception. *note* ... for future clients I don't recommend doing this, but I was lucky in the sense that I had two crucial elements go my way. The first is that I found a nice spot for portraits a minute away from the hall when I was scouting the day before. The second is that Katie and Pete really knew how to switch into "model-mode"... and that probably came a little easier since we did the engagement shoot earlier in the year and they knew what I was going for. All in all it turned out to be a pretty good shoot. Here are some shots from the 15 minute portrait session along with a couple that I set up quickly after the ceremony.

Biotechnology Shoot

2009-07-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

Today I had a great time at work. We had a shoot scheduled with a few student assistants in the office for a Biotechnology webpage we're putting together. The best thing we could think of for a student shoot involved going up to Altamont Pass which is located just past the town of Tracy. Best part of the day wasn't event the photo shoot itself... it was the 45 minute drive there and back with the students. We had a blast! I also know the students favorite part of the trip was the drive too... cuz I don't think the girls were too excited about walking up the hill (... I made them walk a little further than I originally expected... but I had to do it to get the picture I was going after :) Anyways... after the shoot was over we made a stop at In-n-Out for lunch and everyone soon forgot how much hiking they just had to go through. Good times :)

Sikh Pre-Wedding Ceremony

2009-07-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

I've shot a few Indian-related events from birthday parties to engagement events, but last night I shot my first Sikh pre-wedding ceremony. Regardless of how the walls and surroundings are decorated, I love the colors that are shown from the clothing alone.... it's hard to take a bad photo at these events! The only thing I'm sad about is that I'm unable to shoot the wedding next weekend because I already have a wedding booked for the same day. But here are a few shots from the ceremony last night.

Wedding in Livermore

2009-07-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

One day after enjoying the first 4th of July I've had off in 5 years, I had another wedding shoot. Adison and Amanda were getting married at a winery in Livermore, CA. The wedding went very well... and I think the only thing that the couple would've liked to have been different was the weather... It was an outdoor ceremony reception but the weather could not have been colder for July night... it was freezing! Best part of the day for me was seeing the two kiss at the close of the ceremony. I'm always expecting the same type of kiss at this moment. The most dramatic kisses usually include some sort of dip... while other times I've been a little surprised at how quick the kisses can be too. But on this night, shortly after the pastor told Adison to kiss his bride, Amanda had to take a quick break and grab something. She reached for something from one of her bridesmaids and the next thing I knew she was standing on a step stool to become eye level with her groom because of the height differential. It was a great moment :)

Tigers vs. Athletics

2009-07-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

Just posting a few photos from the Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers game the other day. As most baseball shooters know, some days nothing seems to happen on the field, and on others the action can't stop occurring. This was one of those better days.

Wild Bunch

2009-06-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

The third wedding I shot in two weeks was definitely the most hectic of the bunch. Because of some confusing wording on the invitations, many guests began to arrive an hour before the ceremony was intended to start. To make matters worse, the groom and groomsmen arrived about 15 minutes before the ceremony was to take place making. This led to many changes in the schedule... nothing too drastic except for the fact that we had no time to leave and take pictures around town which I would've loved to do since I made time to scout the area beforehand. All this being said... I thought I was going to be in for a long night once the reception started. But things always have a way of coming around for the better, and the reception was fabulous. What the couple lost for in off-site portraits they made up for with crowds of dancing guests. Needless to say I was pretty relieved once I saw how active the crowd was and it made for a great ending to an otherwise long day.

Back-to-Back Weddings

2009-06-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

Jaye and Hannah's wedding came one day after Sam and Allison's... marking another first for me since it was the first time I had to shoot back-to-back weddings. This wedding was a huge contrast from the day before, ... mainly due to the fact that the couple saw each other before the wedding. I still favor only shooting portraits after the ceremony due to the fact that the candid moments leading up to the ceremony tend to be much more 'eventful', but I have to admit it's ten times easier to take great portraits when you're not rushed after the ceremony and have an ample amount of time to work and find great portrait spots. So for future clients who are most concerned with taking great portraits, I'm definitely going to stress that they consider seeing other beforehand just as Jaye and Hannah did (... unless a couple is willing to make their guests wait at the reception area for just a little bit longer :)

Wedding Season Begins

2009-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

On June 12th I shot my first-ever "Friday" wedding with Allison and Sam. Ironically I was asked by another couple to shoot their wedding on the same day... funny how multiple inquiries always seem to take place when you least expect it. But I was very happy to shoot with Allison and Sam. They let me work primarily as a candid photographer which made for a really fun evening. I must have captured several great moments with Allison and her mother, and I was even able to get a couple good candid shots of Sam even though he was pretty camera conscious for the most part. Although it may only appeal to some, my favorite shot of Sam came when I was trying to spy on him greeting the arriving guests. It seemed like anywhere I moved he would find a way to sneak away from me. Eventually I was able to shoot him through a clear door and got a few dramatic shots of him with the guests. One of my other favorite came at the end of the night when I took a shot of the couple holding baseball cards they created. I thought it was very important to get a shot of the two with the cards considering they are both softball coaches and big baseball fans... though I'm sure Allison is enjoying the current season much more than Sam since her team (the Giants) are doing much better than Sam's (the A's).

Commencement 2009

2009-06-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to shooting commencement now. It's brings me back to my days as a newspaper photojournalist because I'm shooting a real event where there is usually a lot going on. But I have to admit I got myself into a weird funk on the first day of commencement this year. Everything I shot felt like it was the same reaction, the same hand wave, the same smile. I didn't find anything different! I kept trying to find a new shot or a new angle but nothing was working. I went home a little frustrated on Friday and started asking myself if I should just go for the best smiles and waves to the crowd when Saturday rolled around, ... because it seemed obvious to me at that moment that I all I was doing was wasting time by waiting for a different shot or moment to catch my eye. When Saturday's commencement started I didn't know how I was going to shoot, (until I got into my "shooting mode" as people call it). But after taking a deep breath I told myself... "I can't just go for the normal shot!" I couldn't let myself do it. ... and as luck would have it... I took my two favorite shots within 60 seconds of each other. After waiting for almost 10 minutes for a girl to look in the direction I was hoping for... I ran into another great moment when I started walking downstairs. I saw two students playing cards together on the steps... I couldn't have set it up any better even if I had tried. After I got these shots... I let out a huge sigh of relief and walked away with some satisfaction for the first time in awhile.

Cardinals vs. Giants

2009-05-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of shots from the Cardinals Giants game yesterday. Albert Pujols hit a couple of home runs in the to put the game out of reach for the Giants.

Promise Scholar Portrait

2009-05-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just posting a photo from an early morning photo shoot I did the other day featuring one of our Promise Scholars on campus. We're highlighting a few students from the group to run as the cover story which will come out in our alumni magazine later this year. This was my favorite photo of the day with Terrance who was very easy to work with. I decided to take him out to to a church based on something I read in the story. At one point when Terrance and his family were going through some tough times they were forced to sleep in their car to make it through the night. They primarily parked in the safest areas they could find... which were usually in the back of a church parking lot. When I told Terrance about the photo idea he had no problems with taking the photo. I think it turned out pretty well.

The David Wright Show

2009-05-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe how good this guy played during the two games I shot of the Mets-Giants series over the weekend. I saw him steal four bases in one game while driving in the winning run in the ninth (later scoring as seen in the picture below which was on USA Today's web-page)... and then saw him get a hit and draw a couple of walks in the other one. It was fun for me to watch but I'm sure the Giants didn't enjoy it too much considering they lost 3 of 4 games to the Mets in the series.

Class Field Trip

2009-05-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go on a class field trip to the middle of nowhere recently. One of my favorite professors on campus is Stuart Wooley who mainly teaches courses in botany. Wooley, who is seen carrying his gear in the bottom photo, is always up for having me come to his classes.. and he is just a real down to earth guy who is super passionate about what he does. I highly recommend that students sign up for his courses if they're at all interested in learning everything there is to know about plants. As for the class shoot... well, the funniest part of the day was going on the trip itself though. I guess I was expecting to jump in a state car or van, but after standing around with some of the students I finally caught on that certain students had volunteered to drive. Next thing I know I was riding out with three students I'd never met over dirt roads and fields. To make a long story short, let's just say I enjoyed all of the jokes they were making in the car... especially on the way back. I gotta say working with students so often definitely keeps me feeling young :)

Dodgers vs. Giants

2009-05-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from a Giants-Dodgers game I shot last month. Always fun to get something a little different of Lincecum, including one of him coming on deck to hit.

A Day in the Life of a Student Athlete

2009-05-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune of shooting one of my favorite type of assignments shortly after the Death Valley Trip... a "day in the life" feature for use in our alumni magazine. Our department decided to follow around our school's top tennis player who came to our school from Germany. I knew going into the shoot that we had a great subject... the only downside was that I wasn't going to be able to get the "typical" day in the life of a student athlete. This was due to the fact that it was the last home match of the year and the team was traveling down South shortly after the match to take part in a tournament over there. That being said... the day actually went longer than I expected and I was able to get some pretty good shots out of it. Once the shoot was over I was reminded as to just how dedicated some of these student athletes can be towards their sport. These players were up at 7 in the morning... and if I had to guess... probably arrived at their hotel for the next day's tournament at 11 in the evening. There was no time for classes this day, and they obviously didn't go to classes when they were out of town. With that being said, that is the one photo I would've loved to catch from the story. I would have been great to see them doing some homework on the road... that would've really finished the story in my mind. Hopefully I'll be able to get on the road the next time an opportunity likes this comes around. I'll post a link to the story once the magazine is out later this year.

Death Valley Sand Dunes

2009-05-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

So seeing the sand dunes was by far my favorite portion of the trip to Death Valley. The pictures do no justice to the actual experience either... though I suppose that's my fault :) But just standing in the center of the dunes and listening to the wind rush through my ears was worth it. I don't know why I say that because it seems like something you can experience everyday, but I guess I've become accustomed to living the city life. There are usually buildings and trees everywhere I go... and here there was nothing but the wind and the sand. When I had to start working and following the students however... that was a different story. I was racing around in the sand trying to stay one step ahead of them on their journey towards the tallest dune. But to get a variety of shots, I also had to let them pass me every now and then which made passing them up again that much harder since I was running in sand the whole time. Once I reached the top I was exhausted and out of breath... but it was worth every second.

Death Valley Campground

2009-05-08T11:17:00.001-07:00

I'll only make one more post related to the Death Valley field trip I went on with students from the school, because I'm realizing that I'm not making updates fast enough on here... and I have plenty of other photos that I could post from recent assignments as well. But on one of the nights in the valley the videographer and I had the pleasure of camping with the students at their campground site. We originally planned on eating granola bars and chips for dinner since that's basically we bought at the grocery store on our way in... but that night we were treated to a home cooked meal with chicken, pulled pork, cornbread, rice and corn. It was great! After I finished my meal I noticed one student sitting all alone at another table. She pulled out her laptop and began to do some homework on there. There were no outlets at the camp site so I was shocked, and very excited, to see someone who still had battery life on their computer. By this time there was barely any light left though... I grabbed my camera and starting taking pictures. I had a very slow shutter speed and was surprised I even got the shot in focus without a tripod to keep the camera steady. Ten or fifteen minutes later, another student and professor had joined the student at the table to study... and although the sky isn't as blue in that photo... I think it's still a pretty good shot that showcases interaction between a professor and student outside of the classroom.

Zabriskie Point

2009-04-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of weeks since my trip to Death Valley... but I've finally found some time to start posting some photos from the trip. But for those of you who don't know, a videographer and I were able to document a class field trip to the Valley where we followed a small group of students for a couple of days (we couldn't get much more time off from work than that considering that the trip to the Valley was almost 900 miles roundtrip). But after briefly seeing the sand dunes on our own the evening before, we drove out early the next morning to find the students at our meeting spot which was Zabriskie Point. The view from Zabriskie Point was amazing as you should be able to see in the photos that are posted. My only regret is that I did not get up at sunrise to take some landscape photos before the students arrived, because the sun hits the series of gullies and mud hills perfectly in the morning. I'll definitely force myself to get out of my sleeping bag a little bit earlier the next time I visit.

Pete and Katie Engagement Shoot

2009-04-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

So this is the last set of pictures I wanted to post from the engagement sessions I did last month. I spent a decent amount of time with Pete and Katie on their engagement shoot and I think the extra time paid off. My favorite picture was taken when each person wore a t-shirt representing the college they attended (Go Bulldogs!) ... and the personality that came out when the college colors were put on was great! There were so many pictures I liked from the shoot... and it was hard to narrow it down to my favorite three... but here they are. Stay tuned for pics from my recent trip to Death Valley... I should be posting those soon!

Restaurant Engagement Shoot

2009-04-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

Just getting back to the blogging after working a few days out of town over the weekend, but I wanted to update my blog from the second of three engagement shoots I did recently. Monica and John had set up our shoot at a small restaurant where John works. Though they didn't meet at this particular restaurant, the couple did meet with culinary ties in mind. One day when Monica was in culinary school, it was her turn to take the trash out to the dumpster out back. It was there where she met John, who offered to help her toss away the heavy bag of trash she was attempting to throw out. Though the story isn't quite as romantic as meeting for a candle-lit dinner, they were soon talking about culinary school and the restaurant... and the rest is history. Can't wait to see what dish they're cooking for the wedding reception in October.

Bowling Alley Engagement Shoot

2009-04-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

It's actually been a few weeks since I did this engagement shoot... but I wanted to post some photos from the shoot before I get even further behind with my updates. But recently I've been fortunate to do some "out of the ordinary" engagement sessions. The first took place at a bowling alley in Fresno. The couple, Jaye and Hannah, were up to do something a little different for their shoot... so since they enjoy bowling... we decided to do the shoot right their in the alley. Along with some cool shots we got in the bar area, I got some shots right on top of the stack of bowling balls that I thought turned out great. Overall I enjoyed the shoot... but I learned one lesson from the experience... and that is to scout out my bowling alleys before deciding on a final location next time. Since I did the shoot out of town... I had no idea what the alley looked like and I was a little disappointed by it's lack of character. That being said... I think we still made it work with what we had and I was happy with the outcome.
I plan on updating again soon with a couple more samples from some recent engagement sessions I had so be on the lookout for that.

NCAA Womens Tourney

2009-03-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

I was able to shoot a few games in the Berkeley Region of the NCAA Womens Basketball Tourney. The best game of the weekend came on the first night when Iowa State came back to defeat Michigan State by one point. I still don't know how they did it considering they were down by 7 points with just over a minute left... but with the help of a turnover and a three-point bank shot... they somehow managed to pull off the win. I remember editing pictures in the media room after the game when one of the guys next to me was on the phone telling the person who he was uploading pictures to that he didn't get many shots of Iowa State because he was so positive that Michigan State was going to win. Luckily I was shooting on both sides of the court that night... but it just goes to show that anything can happen in sports. Because just like the guy next to me... I thought there was no way that Iowa State could come back to win. But with a little luck and some hard defense they pulled off the comeback. You can see a few more pics from the tourney on my sportsshooter page (... the link is at the top of the page).

Cary

Does that score look right?

2009-03-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Trying to get back to making some consistent blog updates... so I thought I'd put up a quick post from a photo I took at a game not too long ago. I was shooting on the third base side of the field during one of CSU Stanislaus Warriors baseball game early this month. At the end of the 7th inning, a few guys next to me starting laughing at the score (or lack of scorekeeping) that was being displayed on the scoreboard in right field. They told me to take a picture of the scoreboard and made a few jokes relating to the fact that a "freshman" must have been in charge of keeping score (... I'm sure you'll be able to see that the numbers don't add up :) But just in case you're curious, the scorekeeper finally made an adjustment to the score in the bottom of the eighth inning. Now that's what I call home field advantage.

Umbrella

2009-02-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

After getting out of a meeting late yesterday I was quickly informed by multiple people that a rainbow was outside. Now... we all know how quickly those things can disappear, so I'm just grabbed my camera and ran outside. I probably should've planned my attack a little better though... because the next thing I know I was getting soaked by the rain. I guess I just wasn't expecting the rain to go along with the rainbow because usually rainbows are more intense after the rain has left and the sun is out. In this particular case... the sun was out and it began to pour. After taking pics of the rainbow over the bookstore... I turned around and decided to shoot into the light because it's not everyday in California that you have a chance to shoot heavy rain with light in the background. Oddly enough... I got a photo I liked more than any of the shots I took with the rainbow in them. It's a simple shot that really doesn't say much unless you are able to see it in a larger format... but for some reason I like it. It's nothing more than two black umbrellas in the distance with a red umbrella in the foreground. I think it was worth getting a little wet for.

Celebrities at Pebble Beach

2009-02-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately as it turned out I was only able to shoot one day of golf at the Pebble Beach Pro Am after weather conditions on the day of the final round forced play to be cancelled on Sunday. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Clint Eastwood on the final day... but maybe I'll get a chance to see the the guy next year. Since my assignment was to shoot most of the professionals on Saturday, I didn't get a chance to see all of the celebrities on hand... but the ones I did see put on quite a show for the fans. I caught a couple of silly moments when Comedian George Lopez momentarily pretended to be a mime with pink gloves before putting on the 18th green... and another when musician Justin Timberlake decided to he would take an easier route to finishing the tournament by placing the ball in the cup with his hands instead of using a putter. I have to admit It was really fun to see the celebrities embarrass themselves out there... and I really thought it was great that they enjoyed it! I'm sure we all know that some celebrities can be a little cocky and arrogant at times ... but most of the ones at Pebble seemed to be pretty approachable. I would highly recommend fans to take a trip over to Monterey next year to watch the tourney if they have a chance. (Though I'd check the weather report before making any reservations).

Pebble Beach Pro Am

2009-02-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've photographed a meaningful golf tournament. The last one I shot was years ago when I lived in Florida and I shot a Jack Nicklaus golf tournament. But when I got the call to shoot at Pebble Beach I knew I had my work cut out for me this weekend. Even though it's probably one of the slowest sports to shoot... golf takes more energy out of you than any sport. There are no golf carts for photographers and it's really quite a workout considering photogs have to carry a giant lens and equipment while they walk around the courses. It's really like hiking except that you have no idea where you are going because we end up shooting so many different players and never know where their ball is going to land until after they have hit it. That being said... golf courses have some of the most amazing views I have ever seen. My favorite hole from yesterday was of the 10th hole on the Poppy Hills golf course (there are 3 courses that the players play at Pebble Beach). Currently we're in a weather delay right now... so I'm hoping I'll get to see all of the Pebble Beach golf course today when the final round starts... but if not,... I'm happy with what I was able to see yesterday (which was half of Poppy Hills and the final three holes on Pebble). We'll see if the weather clears up soon, though it's not looking too good at the moment.

Observation Night

2009-02-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday the school held it's first successful Observation Night. I was curious to see if the event was going to take place or not after too much cloud cover has prevented the event from taking place in the past. To my surprise there was a huge turnout and no clouds in site. It was fun working with my tripod and taking some timed exposures outside. I tried a few different angles... and at one point even balanced my camera on my foot to get some cool shots from underneath the telescopes as people looked at the moon. I liked this shot because it gives a good feel of what it was like to be on the roof that night. Hopefully I'll be able to set up some shots of some students up there soon.

Blogging Again...

2009-02-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

Funny how blogging works. It's been quite awhile since my last blog due to the sole reason that I've just been so busy. But... that's probably the best time to blog since that means there is so much going on. So I've made a few changes to the layout of my blog page... I don't know how long I'll keep it this way since I'm still playing around with the site... but it's much better than it used to be. The main change is simply that the photos will run larger. I was getting a little tired of how small the photos ran due to the fact that this should be more of a "photo blog" than anything else. So with that being said, I'll start off the new blogs by posting an image that recently placed 1st under the "campus environment" category in a monthly competition I entered for the University Photographers Association of America. Enjoy :)